Indonesia’s Biodiesel Take-Up to Lag Reform Target

Indonesia will find it hard to meet its ambitious timetable to burn more palm-based biodiesel, hampered by the demands of distributing the fuel to its thousands of islands and by reluctance to fill up tanks with biofuel.

The Southeast Asian nation is the top producer of palm oil and adding more to fuel could cut its oil import bill by around $2.5 billion a year. That would help Indonesia reverse trade deficits that have weakened its currency and dented investor confidence in the region’s largest economy.